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DanaC · 12-09-2008, 09:29 AM

Sundae, have you ever read Joe Abercrombie's books?
The First Law trilogy.

Here's an extract from part one: The Blade Itself. If it grabs you let me know and I'll post you the trilogy

It's a pretty long sample, the first 63 pages of the book (including cover, title pages, imprint, blank pages between sections etc)

http://www.joeabercrombie.com/downlo...eItself_US.pdf

This is the best debut I've seen in ages in the fantasy genre. I love his writing style. Normally, I skim descriptions of battles, for example, I find it hard to sort the details in my head and get bored by them. In Abercrombie's books, I am totally there and can see the battle unfold. The characters are complex and there's a good deal of moral ambiguity. It's fast-paced but balances that with beautifully indepth characterisation: his writing changes subtly depending on which character he's following, he incorporates their ideosyncracies into the narration without battering you over the head with them. So much so, it really gets you inside that character's internal world. It also has an epic feel to it; managing to convey a sense of long historical forces without boring the reader to tears with history lessons.

It's dark, human and funny. It's also vicious and compelling.

I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit fresh in fantasy.

12-09-2008, 09:29 AM	#1292
DanaC We have to go back, Kate! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 25,964	Sundae, have you ever read Joe Abercrombie's books? The First Law trilogy. Here's an extract from part one: The Blade Itself. If it grabs you let me know and I'll post you the trilogy It's a pretty long sample, the first 63 pages of the book (including cover, title pages, imprint, blank pages between sections etc) http://www.joeabercrombie.com/downlo...eItself_US.pdf This is the best debut I've seen in ages in the fantasy genre. I love his writing style. Normally, I skim descriptions of battles, for example, I find it hard to sort the details in my head and get bored by them. In Abercrombie's books, I am totally there and can see the battle unfold. The characters are complex and there's a good deal of moral ambiguity. It's fast-paced but balances that with beautifully indepth characterisation: his writing changes subtly depending on which character he's following, he incorporates their ideosyncracies into the narration without battering you over the head with them. So much so, it really gets you inside that character's internal world. It also has an epic feel to it; managing to convey a sense of long historical forces without boring the reader to tears with history lessons. It's dark, human and funny. It's also vicious and compelling. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit fresh in fantasy. Last edited by DanaC; 12-09-2008 at 09:39 AM.